2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 300
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 31 of 33 in the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
| Date | November 3, 2018 | ||
| Official name | 14th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge | ||
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 116.82 miles per hour (188.00 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 28.523 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | |
| Laps | 54 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
The 2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge was the 31st stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the second race in the Round of 12, and the 18th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, November 3, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. A wild finish would see Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste best JR Motorsports driver Tyler Reddick with a last-lap pass on the backstretch to win his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series race, his first and only win of the season, and a guaranteed spot in the Championship 4.[1] To fill out the podium, Austin Cindric of Team Penske would finish third.
Background[edit]
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
Entry list[edit]
*Bilicki would wreck during pre-race activities, and as JP Motorsports had no backup cars, they would withdraw the #55 entry, and move Currey to the #45 entry.[2]
Practice[edit]
First practice[edit]
The first practice session was held on Friday, November 2, at 2:05 PM CST, and would last for 45 minutes.[3] Ryan Truex of Kaulig Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.852 and an average speed of 187.162 miles per hour (301.208 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 28.852 | 187.162 |
| 2 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.903 | 186.832 |
| 3 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.942 | 186.580 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice[edit]
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, November 2, at 4:35 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.[3] Ryan Truex of Kaulig Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.757 and an average speed of 187.780 miles per hour (302.203 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 28.757 | 187.780 |
| 2 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.771 | 187.689 |
| 3 | 3 | Shane Lee | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.773 | 187.676 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying[edit]
Qualifying was held on Saturday, November 3, at 12:40 PM CST.[3] Since Texas Motor Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[5]
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 28.523 and an average speed of 189.321 miles per hour (304.683 km/h).[6]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results[edit]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) | Time (R3) | Speed (R3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.824 | 187.344 | 28.527 | 189.294 | 28.523 | 189.321 |
| 2 | 3 | Shane Lee | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.786 | 187.591 | 28.660 | 188.416 | 28.563 | 189.056 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 29.061 | 185.816 | 28.653 | 188.462 | 28.608 | 188.758 |
| 4 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.011 | 186.136 | 28.707 | 188.107 | 28.649 | 188.488 |
| 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.219 | 184.811 | 28.657 | 188.436 | 28.670 | 188.350 |
| 6 | 18 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.696 | 188.180 | 28.584 | 188.917 | 28.686 | 188.245 |
| 7 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.953 | 186.509 | 28.821 | 187.363 | 28.722 | 188.009 |
| 8 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 28.941 | 186.587 | 28.657 | 188.436 | 28.741 | 187.885 |
| 9 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.688 | 188.232 | 28.552 | 189.129 | 28.752 | 187.813 |
| 10 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.950 | 186.528 | 28.689 | 188.225 | 28.882 | 186.968 |
| 11 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 28.990 | 186.271 | 28.765 | 187.728 | 28.883 | 186.961 |
| 12 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 29.251 | 184.609 | 28.821 | 187.363 | 28.936 | 186.619 |
| Eliminated in Round 1 | ||||||||||
| 13 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.889 | 186.922 | 28.873 | 187.026 | — | — |
| 14 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 29.141 | 185.306 | 28.921 | 186.716 | — | — |
| 15 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 29.178 | 185.071 | 28.930 | 186.657 | — | — |
| 16 | 5 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.260 | 184.552 | 28.942 | 186.580 | — | — |
| 17 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 29.416 | 183.574 | 29.422 | 183.536 | — | — |
| 18 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 29.400 | 183.673 | 29.497 | 183.069 | — | — |
| 19 | 40 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 29.676 | 181.965 | 29.543 | 182.784 | — | — |
| 20 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 29.695 | 181.849 | 29.603 | 182.414 | — | — |
| 21 | 90 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.719 | 181.702 | 29.852 | 180.892 | — | — |
| 22 | 38 | J. J. Yeley | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 29.545 | 182.772 | 30.381 | 177.743 | — | — |
| 23 | 4 | Ross Chastain | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.242 | 184.666 | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.894 | 180.638 | — | — | — | — |
| Eliminated in Round 2 | ||||||||||
| 25 | 01 | B. J. McLeod | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.936 | 180.385 | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | 15 | Quin Houff | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.941 | 180.355 | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | 13 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 29.992 | 180.048 | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | 99 | Stephen Leicht | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.150 | 179.104 | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | 8 | Ray Black Jr. | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.297 | 178.235 | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | 35 | Joey Gase | Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 30.306 | 178.183 | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | 93 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 30.342 | 177.971 | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | 52 | David Starr | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 30.483 | 177.148 | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 30.560 | 176.702 | — | — | — | — |
| Qualified by owner's points | ||||||||||
| 34 | 45 | Bayley Currey | JP Motorsports | Toyota | 30.659 | 176.131 | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | 66 | Bobby Dale Earnhardt | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 30.690 | 175.953 | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | 78 | Vinnie Miller | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.730 | 175.724 | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 31.109 | 173.583 | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Chevrolet | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Withdrew | ||||||||||
| WD | 55 | Bayley Currey | JP Motorsports | Toyota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Official qualifying results | ||||||||||
| Official starting lineup | ||||||||||
Race results[edit]
Stage 1 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 110
References[edit]
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (2018-11-03). "Cole Custer wins Xfinity race in Texas with last-lap pass". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- ^ Beard, Brock. "XFINITY: JD Motorsports lends a helping hand to a struggling Morgan Shepherd at Texas". Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- ^ a b c "2018 NASCAR XFINITY Texas Race Page". ESPN.com. 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- ^ a b Sports, N. B. C. (2018-11-02). "Xfinity practice report at Texas". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (2018-11-03). "Christopher Bell wins Xfinity pole at Texas Motor Speedway". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-01-27.